The Boys Who Lived
by pretend to be a mortician
Summary: What if Harry Potter wasn't the one who survived Voldemort's unforgivable curse? Ed and Al if they had grown up in the world of HP. What friendships will be created? How will the brothers deal with their circumstances?
1. Chapter 1

"Are you sure this is alright Albus?" asked a tall woman in a pointy had and a silver bun. "I've been watching them all day and they are the worst sort of muggles imaginable!"

"They are the only family left. We have no choice." A grey and bearded wizard answered. "Hargrid should be here anytime soon with the boy."

They both looked up as a crashing and roaring noise caught their attention. What could only be described as a flying motorcycle descended upon them.

"Took quite a while to get here, how far away is this place anyway?" A burly man towering over the other two figures in the night by at least two feet, remarked.

"You have him! And he's alright?" Asked the woman.

"He's fine Minerva, but….there were two boys at the house." Hagrid told the other two, uncovering two small sleeping boys in his arms, both with gleaming golden hair.

"My goodness, what on Earth?" exclaimed the woman. "It must be twins!"

"Whatever they may be, we shall leave them with their family. They deserve to live away from their world for now." Albus answered as he took the two bundles from Hagrid and placed the two boys on the stoop of the house they all stood before. Albus took an envelope from his robes and placed it beside them. On the front it had two names:

_Alphonse & Edward_

_Elric_

They all stepped back, Minerva shooting another nervous look at the small vulnerable boys. With a roar from the motorcycle, Hagrid was gone. Albus re-lit the streetlights and with a resounding CRACK, Minerva and Albus left the scene.

**11 Years Later**

"Hurry up ED!!! It's time for breakfast!" Al whispered loudly to his brother through the pile of pillows piled on top of his ears.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming in a minute! Geez, I didn't get ANY sleep last night." Ed growled from underneath the fort of pillows.

They both got up and as Ed shuffled down the stairs, Al bounded down after him with great enthusiasm (He was definitely a morning person). When they reached the bottom of the stairs however, he halted and they both quickly made their way through the quiet house without making a sound.

They reached a small and dingy kitchen and began working like clockwork. As one brother took pans from the cupboard, the other reached for the ingredients on the top shelf of the refrigerator. In a matter of minutes, Al had something cooking on the stove while Ed began setting the table.

"The eggs are almost done, I'll start on the sausage if you make the coffee," Al quietly told his brother.

Ed went over to the coffee pot and began the process, eagerly sniffing the coffee with pleasure in his eyes. Al noticed this and said,"You know you'll be in trouble if you swipe any!"

Ed snapped back from his caffeinated reverie with an, "I know that!!"

A little while later the two boys had a balanced breakfast laid out on the table set for three. They took the remaining food in the pans and plopped it into bowls for themselves.

They crept back to their rooms already hearing the noises of the other members of the house stirring. In a minute or so the other inhabitants of the house would rise and reach the kitchen. By that time the food would have reached a temperature comfortable for eating, and the two brothers would be well out of the way.

This is exactly how it happened every morning and that morning as well.

The two brothers back in their room gobbled down their own breakfast. Al was reading one of the few books they from a bookshelf in the small room. It was labeled, "The Practical Ways of Physics"

Ed was looking out the window, munching on a half eaten sausage. From his window he could see a tree and the backyard of their neighbor's house; exactly the same as their own. He turned to Al and said,"You're reading that AGAIN. We've read it only a million times. Why don't you wait until we can go to the library tomorrow to get completely absorbed in reading."

"Because, brother, we can never bring library books home, so I never finish them! At least this one I can finish. Besides, it's not like there is anything else to do." Al replied.

"Let's play chess." Ed told his brother.

"No, you ALWAYS beat me!" Al complained.

"But that's what makes it fun," mumbled Ed with a cross of his arms.

Suddenly a yell came from downstairs, so loud it made the boys jump. Ed and Al filed downstairs quickly and arrived at the kitchen and source of the roar.

Before them, in the kitchen, sat a large man with light brown hair and a moustache with a red face in between. Across him at the table sat a petite woman with brown wavy hair and a face so pinched that it looked like she was constantly in a bad mood. Between them sat a large boy with brown hair, stuffing his face with sausage, not giving the two boys a second glance.

"What in the world is this?!" exclaimed the portly man holding up an empty coffee mug.

"A coffee cup….?" Ed responded, sounding doubtful of the man's mental state.

"Well of course it is a coffee cup!" the man yelled, seething. "This coffee cup is missing something. I wonder what? Hmmm…… oh that's right, MORE COFFEE." He said this while standing up to walk over to Ed, the ceramic mug still in his hand. "You little runt! You drank some didn't you! I usually drink three cups of coffee from the pot, but after two…THERE WAS NO MORE COFFEE."

The man threw the mug at the boy from a few feet away, hitting the boy in the face, even as he tried to block it with his arms. The mug then fell on the tile floor and smashed into pieces.

"Oh, honey! Not the mug! That was a Christmas present from your sister!" The man's wife complained, ignoring the boys in the middle of her kitchen.

His temper seeming to have worn off, the man sat back down and ordered, "Clean that mess up and go fetch the mail!"

Al moved to one of the cabinets, reaching for a small broom and dustpan. As he cleaned up the mess on the floor, his brother moved towards the door. Ed went outside to the mailbox and reached in for the mail. He looked up to see an owl perched on the tree he was looking at, not too long ago.

He looked through the mail, one by one out of fleeting interest until he came upon a letter:

_Alphonse & Edward Elric_

_The Room in the Attic_

_125 Maple Lane_

_Risembool, Armestris_

Ed's eyes widened. He turned it over and saw a seal on the back. It had a large "H" on in and was decorated with various strange animals. He tucked the letter into his pocket and scurried into the house so he wouldn't be scolded.

"I can't believe it! Who would send us a letter?" Al exclaimed excitedly in the privacy of their room.

"I don't know! Hold on a sec, while I open it!" Ed slipped his fingers under the wax seal and practically ripped open the letter. He unfolded the first of two pieces of thick paper:

_Dear Alphonse and Edward Elric,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term Begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

"Hogwarts School of _WHAT?_" Alphonse asked.

"Why the heck would I need a cauldron?" Ed asked as he looked at the second sheet of paper. It consisted of a list of strange items and books that were required to attend the school. "This must be some kind of joke," Ed said to his brother. It's probably some prank the lousy kids at school are playing on us because they say we are so smart it's unnatural."

"I don't think they would take it this far, brother," said Al. "Why would they take the time so send us this strange letter, and why would it be a school for...for wizards?"

"I don't know, but I sure as hell am not falling for it." Ed said, putting the letter down and sitting on the bed with arms crossed.

"But haven't you always thought that maybe…just maybe we were a little bit different than everyone else?" Al asked. "What if this is real? What if we really can go to a school away from here? I wonder what they teach there." Al picked up the list of things and read some of the books aloud: "_The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1; A History of Magic; Magical Theory; A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration-"_

"What in the world is transfiguration?" Ed interrupted.

"I don't know, but wouldn't you want to find out?"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N-Oh, so I forgot about the whole author's notes part on the first chapter. Oh well. So yeah this is my first fic. I was originally going to follow the plot of the first book more closely, but then I decided to just go with the flow because things are turning out different. If you haven't already noticed some things aren't going to be completely accurate according to FMA and HP. I'm obviously changing some things around, so just deal with it. One example being that I made Ed and Al twins. I did this because I wanted them to go to Hogwarts at the same time, but to be serious it doesn't really change much because they were close enough to be twins anyway. It's been a while since I read all of the books so I'm just going to go with it and might have to reference back at some point. I love getting reviews (encouragement or constructive criticism) , and I love all my readers.**

**Obviously I don't own FMA or Harry Potter.**

It didn't take long for Mr. Dursley to realize that something was going on between Al and Ed. Despite not being the sharpest knife on the cutting board, he did pick up on things that occurred in his house, sometimes. He had recently noticed a silent battle going on between the two brothers. On one hand it was rare because they were so close, but on the other it was also not surprising considering the boys' matching stubborn natures. Whatever was going on, Vernon Dursley did not like being in the dark about it one bit. He decided to confront the boys on this matter soon. Well, as soon as his favorite show was over, and he had had a good night's sleep, oh and perhaps some good coffee in the morning….the morning paper….work…well….he would get around to it eventually.

Eventually, turned out to be just enough time for the two boys to confront each other on their problems. Al wanted to respond to the letter and go to Hogwarts. Ed refused to go along with whoever wrote that letter. He didn't trust anyone and he wasn't about to believe this "wizard" nonsense.

"But Eddd!!! Don't you just wanna know?? Even a little? You don't know what it could be like! It could be amazing! Or even if it isn't, isn't it worth it to get away from the Dursley's for the school year?" Al hounded his brother.

At the mention of the Dursley's, Ed's otherwise unrelenting glare of anger and stance of obstinacy, momentarily shifted into interest, his mind quickly working out the possibilities and chances of this offer being advantageous. "How are we going to get them to let us go?" Ed challenged. He knew that they both didn't really care about permission or not, he just wanted to know how far Al had thought about this option.

This question Al didn't have an answer for. "Maybe, they will be so happy that we are off their hands that they will send us?" Al proposed.

Ed snorted. "Like that'll happen. Uncle Vernon will oppose anything that has to do with us getting what we want." But even as he said this, Ed's opinion of going changed. Even if they didn't end up going to the school, the notion of leaving the Dursley's was quite appealing.

"Hey Al. I've had a change of heart. I think we should go." Ed said, in a complete turnaround.

"Really! I'm so happy!" Al jumped up excitedly. "I can't wait, brother!"Al exclaimed, momentarily forgetting the complications in their plan, and Ed's uncharacteristically quick change in opinion.

Vernon Dursley woke up that morning with an unsettling feeling. He made his way to the kitchen and realized immediately what was wrong. There was no breakfast and (more importantly) no coffee! He stormed his way up the stairs to give the two brats a piece of his mind. He opened the door to find the attic empty. On the bed nearest to him he found a note. He unfolded it and read:

_Dearest family,_

_Alphonse and I have decided to depart the premises and have little intention of returning. We would thank you for taking care of us, but you really didn't. We wouldn't have left a letter if it was up to me (Al made me). I hate your guts._

_Sincerely,_

_Edward and Alphonse_

_P.S. Don't come looking for us (not that I think you would)._

Vernon's hands shook in rage as he called, "PETUNIA!"

Meanwhile, the two boys were at the train station. They compiled all the money that they had managed to earn and hide from the Dursley's over the years (and some that Ed had just stolen from them), and had managed to get two tickets to Central. What they were going to do when they got there was not exactly clear. They boarded the train with no problems and the brothers found empty seats.

"So where do you think this school is anyway? They didn't give a return address, they just said to reply by owl. How do we do that?" asked Al.

"Beats me. I'm gonna take a nap, tell me when we get there." With that Ed used his battered suitcase as a pillow and, to all appearances, went to sleep.

"Hmmph," was all Al gave as a response. He looked out the window at the rapidly passing scenery.

Ed woke up with a start as the train came to an abrupt stop.

"We're here, brother." Al said to him as Ed got up and stretched.

They got off the train and began to melt into the crowd. They weren't used to so many people, usually being cooped up in the attic. They were swept out of the station and into the city. Tall buildings flanked each side of the road. Businesses were sprinkled in between apartment buildings and other sorts of places squeezed their way into the main road.

The boys were somewhat overwhelmed and didn't have a destination like most of the passerby. They made their way onto a side street and into a small pub. Ed sat down as a friendly waitress set menus on their table. Al looked around warily and whispered to Ed, "What are we doing here?"

"Just chill out, ok?" Ed said as he flipped through the menu.

The boys ordered their food and then continued their earlier conversation in low tones.

"So, what do you think about magic? You must believe in it now right? They wouldn't have a school for it if it didn't exist." said Al.

"I don't know what I believe; let's just focus on finding a place to stay." Ed said, trying to steer the conversation away from talk of magic.

"I wonder what Hogwarts is like. I bet it's really fun, aren't you excited, Ed?" Al said a bit too loud.

"Shhhh! Try not to attract attention, Alphonse!" Ed warned him. They were already getting some looks because they were two young boys alone in the city. A man seemed to hear what they had been speaking about. It was a rather large man sitting in the corner and Ed began to watch him. The man made to get up and as he rose from his seat, Ed saw that he was indeed a rather large man. He was in fact, the largest man that Ed had ever seen in his whole life.

The man was wearing a very large brown coat and sporting a bushy dark beard with matching bushy hair and eyebrows. His steps make loud clunking noises as he walked and a pink umbrella could be seen in his right hand. He approached them and sat down in one of the other two chairs left vacant at their table.

"Did I hear ya boys talkin' 'bout Hogwarts?" he said excitedly.

"Um, what's it to you, mister?" Ed replied, still somewhat in a state of shock.

"Oh, sorry to be so rude! My name's Hagrid, Rubeus Hagrid. I live at Howarts. Work their too." Hagrid told them with a bit of a smile. "You youngster's gunna be firs' years?"

"See Ed! It really does exist!" Al said. "Hi, I'm Alphonse Elric! Nice to meet you!" Al said while extending a friendly hand to the burly man.

Hagrid seemed to ignore the hand as his eyes widened. "You-you're Alphonse Elric? That must make you Edward!" he said excitedly towards Ed. "Oh, I guess it has been eleven years now…now that I think about it… but what are the odds… So nice to see you two!" he said, somewhat to himself.

"How do you know us?" Ed asked suspiciously. He also looked around and saw many gazes in their direction. This 'Hagrid' character was attracting a lot of attention even though he had said their names somewhat quietly.

"Why I've known you two since you was wee babes. I can't believe it's come at last!" Hagrid said happily. By this time he realized the attention they were attracting and he grinned. "How'd you two know about this place?"

"What do you mean?" asked Al.

"This is a wizard's pub. How'd you two find it? And why are you out here in the city, by yourselves?"

"It's none of your business," Ed growled and tried to get up.

"Easy there lad," said Hagrid putting a hand to the irritated boy's shoulder, easing him back into his seat. "I know you're a bit jumpy from all this attention and I'm not meanin' to be scaring you, but you have to expect some sort of reaction around here."

"Reaction to what?" Al asked.

"Well I don't know if people have fully realized it yet, but reaction to _you_ of course!" Hagrid said.

"Reaction to us? Why? We didn't do anything." Ed said with a scowl.

Hagrid gave them a confused look. "Don't you two know? Surely they told you what happened?"

"Who? What would they tell us?" Al asked.

"Didn't your aunt and uncle tell you what happened to your parents?" Hagrid questioned.

"Well of course they did! You don't exactly expect us to live without some sort of explanation of how they died, do you? They couldn't have just dropped dead for no reason, could they?" Ed told Hagrid bitterly.

"Not just any reason, Edward," Hagrid said with a pained look. "What did your aunt and uncle tell you?"

"They died in a car crash," Al said with a sad look.

"WHAT!? Hohenhiem and Trisha Elric died in a car crash? That's ridiculous!" Hagrid said, startling the whole tavern.

"What? It's not the truth?" Al blurted out.

Hagrid looked around and told the boys, "Maybe we should fine somewhere a bit more private. I'll tell you what really happened the night your parents died."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! Chapter 3. I honestly didn't think I would get this out during the week. I thought it would be the weekend before I got anything else out, but I really want to get these beginning parts out of the way, so I can get into the really good stuff I'm messing around with in my head **grins**. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: don't own FMA or HP.**

Hagrid didn't know how to easily approach the grisly subject of the death of Ed and Al's parents. He first approached the bar and asked the man behind it for a more private setting. They were led to a back room with a couple of chairs and an unlit fireplace. The two boys sat down in two of the worn chairs as Hagrid sat across from them on a couch.

"Well, out with it! If you are just yanking our chains then save it and we're leaving." Ed said, still skeptical of the whole situation.

"Hold on, Ed! I want to hear the truth. I think we can trust him, right?" Al said giving Hagrid a questioning look.

"What use is it to ask HIM if he's trustworthy? It's not like he'll say no, Al." Ed said rolling his eyes.

Hagrid spoke up, "You two can trust me. I knew your parents and I really do work for Hogwarts. It's just hard to tell you, what really happened. I mean it's hard to believe you didn't know. Your parents…were murdured."

"Murdered!? By who? Why? Who would kill them?" Al asked frantically. Ed just gave a blank look, his thoughts still thoroughly hidden behind his golden eyes.

"They were killed by… well…V…Voldemort." Hagrid said apprehensively. "He was a bad wizard. He was as dark as they come, and well, 11 years ago he was trying to gather followers and eliminate those in his way. Your parents…well they got in his way and he killed them."

"So you're saying this 'Voldemort' guy killed our parents because they stopped him from creating his own little club of cronies?" Ed said dubiously while Hagrid flinched when he said the name.

"We don't usually say his name. People refer to him as 'He Who Must Not Be Named', and there is a little more to it than that. 'He Who Must Not Be Named' wanted to take over the wizarding world an' get rid of those who possessed mixed blood. You-Know-Who wanted to kill those with muggle, or non-magic, blood in their family. He gained many supporters and it was a time of great fear and peril. He was slowly becomin' more powerful until he decided t' kill your parents. They were good wizards but they were also trying to protect you. They gave their lives for you. When he went to kill the two of yeh, he lost all of his power and disappeared." Harid finished.

"That's a load of bull-crap. We were just babies, how would we stop some crazed killer?" Ed asked.

"It's still unknown. That's why you are famous!" Hagrid told them.

"Mom….Dad…." Al said in an almost whisper, a look of sorrow washing across his face.

"C'mon, Al. Let's go." Ed said getting up from the table.

"Where are you boys going?" Hagrid asked.

"None of your business."

"Dumbledore sent me 'ere. I'm pretty sure he knew you was gunna be here." Hagrid told them. "I think you boys are here without yer relatives, am I right? Where do you two plan on stayin'?"

"Ah, well…."Ed began hesitantly.

"That's what I thought. Well then you two should come with me." Hagrid said.

"No way," Ed declared adamantly.

"But Ed, we don't have anywhere to go! Weren't we going to go to Hogwarts anyway? We can go with Hagrid." Al said sensibly.

"I uh…well…" Ed scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I wasn't really planning on going to Hogwarts."

"ED! You mean you were tricking me? You wanted to really run away? Where would we go besides the school?" Al demanded.

Ed bowed his head guiltily. He hated it when his plans didn't pan out the way he wanted. He hated it even more when his brother got mad at him for doing things behind his back. "Fine. I'll go."

"Well now that that's settled, I guess we should get going." Hagrid said a little more cheerfully.

"Where are we going?" Al said brightly.

"London," was Hagrid's simple reply. He walked over to the fireplace and pulled out a small bag. "Do exactly as I do. Take a fistful of floo powder, throw it at your feet an' say, 'Leaky Cauldron' real clearly. You go first, Al."

With that, Al stepped forward with his suitcase, took a fistful and threw it into the fireplace he was standing in while saying, "The Leaky Cauldron." Flames engulfed his body and disappeared up the chimney.

When Ed saw this, he flipped. "What just happened? Where's Al? What did you do to him?" Ed said angrily. He walked up to Hagrid, completely unfazed by the great difference in their statures with the full intention of beating him to a pulp.

"Hold on a second there, Ed." Hagrid said holding the boy at bay with his oversized hands. "Your brother is fine. He is now at the Leaky Cauldron. Don't you want to join him? He' s probly 'right confused there all by himself."

Ed gave Hagrid a mixed look of doubt and confusion. "This is…what magic does? He's now somewhere else?" Ed now looked extremely intrigued as if he wanted to find out all of the secrets behind what had just unfolded in front of his eyes. He believed Hagrid's words mostly because, although Ed didn't trust others easily, Hagrid gave off a general feeling of goodwill and honesty. "Fine." Was all Ed said as he stepped up to the fire place with a handful of the powder from the bag. He said, "Leaky Cauldron" and threw the powder to his feet. He watched as flames began to engulf him before he felt himself and his suitcase being hurled upwards until he came crashing down into another fireplace.

"AL!" Ed shouted as he saw his brother's face.

"Ed! That was magic! It was amazing!" Al said excitedly.

Hagrid appeared in the fireplace a few seconds later and walked over to the boys. "It's a good thing that the 'Cauldron has a large fireplace, else I wouldn't fit." He said to them with a big smile.

"What is this place?" Al asked looking around at the people dressed in dark colored cloaks clustered around tables.

"It's another wizard place. It's an inn." Hagrid told them. He walked up to the bar and asked the man behind the counter something. The man looked over at them, a little surprised. He then handed Hagrid something and went back to helping his customers. It seemed that Hagrid had told him who the brothers were but asked for it to be kept on the down low. He led them upstairs and down a creaky hallway where strange noises could be heard from some of the doors they passed by. Hagrid stopped at a door near the end of the hall.

"You two can stay here tonight. I've arranged it so that meals with be brought up to you. I'll be back tomorrow. Welcome to London!" He said before leaving them in the room.

Ed walked over and placed his suitcase on the squeaking queen-sized bed. He then sprawled out on one side of it. Al walked over to the other side and lay down next to Ed.

"What do you think about what Hagrid told us?" Al finally asked, looking up at the ceiling.

"I don't know," Ed replied honestly. "I want to say that he's lying, but I think he could be telling the truth."

"I think he's telling the truth. No matter how much I wish it wasn't true." Al said. "Our parent's being murdered…I just don't want to believe it." They had never known very much about their parents so anything they learned about them they held very close. Al closed his eyes and a small tear trickled down his cheek.

"It's okay Al. We don't need parents. You've got me, don't you?" Ed said a little awkwardly, trying to comfort his brother.

"Yeah, that is one thing that won't ever change."

**Awww… I love Ed and Al's brotherly love.**

**When I start getting more time on my hands, I'll write longer chapters, but right now I try to at least make them over 1,000 words. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, and welcome to Chapter #4. Sorry it's been a while, I've been busy with a hectic life. My dad had emergency appendix surgery, there is an exchange student from Holland living at my house, and I auditioned for the school play, among other things. I am going to Martha's Vineyard this weekend so I might not be able to write much. I don't even know if I'll have internet access. I'll try to update again soon though!**

**I don't own FMA or HP.**

The boys woke up the next morning bright and early. Just as Hagrid had told them, food was brought up for them. Alphonse was neatly emptying some of their things into the drawers in a dusty bureau while Edward was finishing off his brother's sausage from breakfast.

"Hagrid should be coming soon," Al commented.

"yoeh I nomph," Ed said with a full mouth.

"Please stop talking with your mouth full, Ed." Al said somewhat exasperated.

"Yeah, yeah," was the only reply.

The boys came down the stairs of the inn to find Hagrid at the bar waiting for them. "'ey there boys! Ready t' get yer things for school?"

"Sure, whatever," was Ed's only response as Hagrid got up from his seat and they began to walk towards another part of the inn.

Al ignored Ed's unenthusiastic comment. "Where are we supposed to buy our supplies? I can hardly believe that you would find these things in London, or anywhere else for that matter." Al looked at the specific list.

"Oh, don't you worry about that. Oi! This way!" Hagrid beckoned to them as he walked over to another part of the inn. They were led to a brick wall where Hagrid began to tap various bricks with the tip of his umbrella.

"What are you doing?" asked Al.

"You'll see," Hagrid told them as the bricks began moving of their own accord and forming an archway that Hagrid walked through without a second thought. The brothers stepped through into the sunny morning.

They were suddenly even more overwhelmed than they had been stepping off the train. People were traveling in all directions along the one path. Stores of all kinds lined both sides and continued out of sight at the bend in the alley. Inside the shops many interesting goods sat in windows waiting to be purchased. Al looked in on a store full of broomsticks while Ed observed the inner workings of a busy bookstore. Hagrid stood in the middle, trying to keep the two from wandering off and becoming separated from him.

"This way, you two. We hafta get you some money don' we?" Hagrid told them with a grin.

The two boys were almost literally itching with excitement, eager to explore this new world that they somehow became a part of so suddenly. Edward's disbelief in magic was on its last legs as he observed many strange occurrences, not to mention the ones that he had already experienced firsthand.

Hagrid led them to a large brick building titled: "Gringotts". "This is the bank," Hagrid told them, making his way up the steps. "We're gunna meet some goblins. Not the nicest of folk, but they'll keep yer stuff safest."

The boys looked at each other at the mention of goblins. They scrambled up the steps after Hagrid and found themselves in a large lobby. Hagrid walked up to the nearest desk and cleared his throat. The two small boys looked up at the high desk and saw a creature with a permanent frown. The crooked nose turned towards Hagrid as he asked, "Yes?"

"We would like to make a withdrawl."

"Name?"

"Elric."

"Do you have your key?"

"Uhh…yes!" Hagrid said after he dug his hands in his enormous pockets and pulled out a small silver key.

The goblin called, "Gripshook!" Another goblin came over to them, received the key from Hagrid and led them to a cart. They all stepped in. The cart began to move quickly and soon the wind was whipping by their faces. The cart's speed kept increasing like an out of control roller coaster. Various things could almost be seen as they passed by them, but they were moving too fast for any one image to register.

The cart came to a stop in front of a vault. The goblin got out and unlocked the vault.

"Here we are, boys!" Hagrid told them.

"How do we have money?" Ed asked Hagrid.

"It's from your parents." Was his simple reply.

"Oh," Ed said looking away and now suddenly interested in what was inside the vault.

They stepped inside and Al gasped. The vault was huge, but a large portion of it was filled with coins of all kinds. They picked up some of the money and Hagrid smiled. "Ready?" he asked.

"You bet! Let's go." Al said enthusiastically.

They piled back into the cart and Gripshook brought them back to the lobby. They left the bank with their riches and took a look at their lists.

"First things first, let's get you two some robes." Hagrid told them, steering them towards "Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions"_._

Ed gave a distasteful look when he realized what they were going to buy. He was about to complain when they entered the shop and Hagrid had them ushered off for fittings of their robes.

Al was brought to one side and Ed was brought to the other, with a skinny boy with glasses getting fitted between them. He was smiling at his parents as they remarked upon how well he looked in them.

"We'll be right next door, honey. Come over when you're done." The boy's mother said with a smile. The couple walked away happily and the dark brown haired boy noticed the two blondes on either side of him.

"Hi, I'm Harry Potter. What's your name?" Harry asked turning to Al.

"I'm Alphonse Elric, and that's my brother, Edward." The women fitting them gave a small surprised look, but they politely continued pinning and hemming.

"Really? You're the Elrics?" Harry asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah," Al said a little awkwardly.

"So you two must be getting robes for Hogwarts! Are you first years like me?" Harry asked them in a friendly voice.

"Yeah, we are!" Al said with a smile. He looked over at his brother who was trying his best not to notice how much his robe was being hemmed up to fit his small frame and height. Al had passed him recently by an inch or two and seemed to be growing every day. Ed's height on the other hand, didn't seem to be going anywhere. Ed was also a bit skinny and scrawny compared to his brother and other boys his age.

"I'll see you around!" Harry told them before leaving the shop and going to the one next door.

The boys were done with their fitting and came over to where Hagrid was with their new clothes. "Okay, next we need… books!" Hagrid told them.

They were led out into the busy day towards another shop. This shop was labeled "Flourish and Blotts". The bell on the door tinkled when they stepped inside but no one took notice of it over the general noise of the busy store.

"Over 'ere." Hagrid said heading to a section where first level wizarding books were shelved. Even if the boys had been paying attention to him, they might not have heard him. As it was, theer attention wandered to the more interesting titles lining the shelves. Hagrid turned around, realizing they were not behind him and he came over to fetch them.

"This way, you two." Hagrid told them finally leading them by their shirts. They hardly had enough time to browse before Hagrid made them pay for their identical piles and leave the shop.

He took them to a few other shops where they got matching cauldrons, sets of various ingredients for questionable uses, and other needed items.

The boys finally found themselves in front of a shop called "Ollivanders".

**This is the time where suggestions for wands would be welcome. I'm also thinking about which houses I'll put the brothers in. Separate? Or together? Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Gryffindor, or Hufflepuff? Any suggestions regarding ANYTHING are very much welcome. Something or someone in particular you wanna see? Just tell me and I might be able to make things happen. I'm also contemplating if and which characters from FMA could possibly show up.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter #5.**

**Thank you so much for reviews! I love everyone's ideas for the brother's houses. If you have any other ideas feel free to mention them.**

**Don't own FMA or HP.**

The boys stepped into Ollivanders not knowing what to expect. The bustle of the street was lost when the door closed them inside of the quiet shop. Besides the windows in the front of shop there was a seat to one side which Hagrid sat in while the boys stepped up to the broad counter. No one was at the counter but the boys could see the tall stacks of boxes that reached the ceiling and started at the floor. The stacks continued out of sight behind the counter. A ladder was leaning against the shelves of boxes that could be used to reach the top ones.

There was a bell on the counter and Al rung it. They waited for a few minutes before Ed got irritated and rung the bell a few times again. An older man suddenly stumbled into view.

"I heard it the first time." The man remarked, albeit not angrily.

He nodded to Hagrid as Hagrid got off the chair, stepped out the door and said, "I leave them in your hands, Mr. Ollivander."

"Yeah, yeah, you gunna help us, pops?" Ed responded impatiently.

"Hold on, you must be the Elrics?" the man told them.

"How do you know?" Al asked him.

"I remember everyone who has ever been in my shop and every wand I've sold them. I would recognize the sons of Hohenheim anywhere." He said.

His comments seemed a little unrelated to the brothers, not knowing how seeing their father a few times would make them instantly recognizable as his sons, they just shrugged to each other accepting that this man was a little off kilter. By the time they finished their thoughts about him, the man had left to rummage among the many boxes on the shelves. He came back with a box and unwrapped it, looking between the two brothers. He decided to hand the wand to Ed after much thought.

"Well give it a wave!" He told him before leaving to get more wands. Ed just crossed his arms, not doing anything with his wand.

After a few more seconds of Ed just standing there with the wand, what could only be described as a backfire sent Ed flying to the floor and the wand flying out of his hand. Ed got up while Al picked up the wand and set it on the table. Mr. Ollivander came back with a few more boxes and handed one of the wands to Al.

"Maybe this one with work for you: 12 inches, mahogany, male unicorn tail hair. Very good wand, very good wand," he muttered as Al held the wand up to his face.

A soft light emitted from the tip of the wand as the stale air around Al was disturbed and pulled at his clothes and short dark blonde hair.

"I see that this wand has chosen you, Mr. Elric." Mr. Ollivander said happily.

He then turned to Ed who was looking a little curiously at his brother who had a huge smile on his face. He pushed a wand into Ed's hands and he started to swish it, eager to get a similar reaction from the wand as his brother had gotten from his. Mr. Ollivander could sense a disaster was about to happen and snatched the wand quickly out of Ed's hands. Before Ed could complain he handed him another one. Ed held it up and waved it as all the boxes lying on the table got torn to shreds.

Wand after wand was given to Ed with similar reactions. One of them became hot in his hands causing him to drop it; one caused boxes to be ripped off the shelves; and a few more exploded in Ed's face. Whatever ones Ed didn't get a reaction from, Ollivander snatched from him before damage could be done. When the pile was exhausted and several more wands had been found in the back shelves and had been given to Ed with no success, Ollivander left them at the counter for a few minutes by themselves.

"Someone's difficult as always," Al told Ed with a smirk.

"Oh, shut up," Ed said giving his brother a shove. He was feeling a little down but wasn't about to show it in front of his brother. He shuffled his feet a little on the floor and then looked at the pile of rejected wands. That was how he felt. Just a little bit rejected. He thought about the fact that it wasn't the wands that were rejected; it was the wands that had rejected him. Al saw the look on his brother's face for only a moment before Ollivander came back with one final box.

He handed the box to Ed with a questioning look. Ed opened the box and took out a jet black wand. "8 ¾ inches, African blackwood; very sturdy, kelpie mane hair. Very unusual, very unusual wand; but I wonder…" he mumbled.

The wand felt warm in Edward's grasp and a bright light flashed in everyone's eyes. Ed's braided blonde hair flew upwards along with a gust of warm air.

"When I stumbled upon this combination, I didn't know how it would react. Very unusual properties, that wand. Interesting that it chose you… very interesting."

The boys were eager to pay for their wands and leave, Mr. Ollivander gave them the creeps. They stepped outside the shop and looked around for Hagrid. He was running towards them. "Hogwarts business, now lets go to the last stop," he said to them leaving no time at all for questions.

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They walked until they reached a shop for all sorts of pets. "It says on the list that we can bring a cat OR an owl OR a toad." Al read off the list.

"I suggest at least one of yeh get an owl, handy creatures, they are." Hagrid told them as they stepped inside.

Inside was mayhem. Creatures of all sorts peered at them through eyes of all kinds, some with no eyes that just seemed to follow them with their heads. The first thing Al noticed was a pen of kittens, and he rushed over and began to pet the swarm of warm furry bodies. Ed just rolled his eyes and remembered Al's past with cats. They had never been able to have one, due to their living circumstances. The one time that Al had brought home an abandoned cat, Ed had made him find a new home for it before the Dursley's had found out. Now that Al could have a cat of his own, it was only a question of whether he could only pick one.

Ed kept browsing the mysterious creatures, looking for anything that would catch his eye. He reached the section of owls and was immediately drawn to a golden barn owl with gold eyes that almost matched his own. He stepped up to it and put his fingers on the silver cage. The owl snapped at his fingers immediately and he pulled them back as fast as he could before he lost one. This of course didn't deter him in the slightest. He felt something; a bond? with this bird. He felt some sort of connection and wanted to explore this newfound curiosity.

Al was also curious. There was one kitten that truly seemed to be the most energetic of the kittens, but it was also the smallest. It was a black tuxedo kitten with white paws and a white face, with a white tip on his tail. He decided to get this cat, not because of its size, or how it looked, but because of the look in its blue-grey eyes. He saw intelligence and curiosity in it's eyes. The look in fact, mirrored his own.

Both of the boys arrived at the counter with their purchases. Hagrid admired their new pets with a broad smile. "You 'ave good eyes fer creatures," was his only comment.

Hagrid led them back to the Leaky Cauldron. When they had had a meal downstairs and were about to go upstairs, Hagrid told them, "I've arranged it so that you two can stay here for a week before school starts. I'll come and pick you up then, I still have some stuff to finish for Dumbledore before you young'uns come." He winked at them and then left.

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The boys spent the last week of their summer getting acquainted with their new pets. Al loved his new cat and named him Lucifer. He would spend most of his time following the energetic cat around and the rest of his time petting it while it slept.

Ed's was still a little testy and he wasn't sure how to ask it to send a message to someone. He wasn't even sure if his owl would listen to him, even if he knew. Ed named his owl Aniketos, which he knew meant "unconquered" in Greek. The bird truly was unconquered. It was completely uncouth towards him and everyone else. It was untamed in every way and Ed spent most of his time stopping him from grabbing things outside of his cage and pecking them to shreds; or making lots of noise. "What the hell was I thinking?" Ed constantly mumbled to himself.

The other activity that Ed and Al spent their time immersed in was reading their schoolbooks. They already knew that magic was against the law, but reading would be okay, wouldn't it? Ed and Al had read many books, getting their hands on as many as they could because books brought them worlds away from their unhappy lives. They read to gain knowledge about things that they were sure that they would never experience. Their schoolbooks for Hogwarts were by far the most interesting and strangest they had come across. By the time that the week was over, they could hardly wait to see just what they had gotten themselves into.

**The boys will be arriving at Hogwarts soon. They will see some "familiar" faces. I wonder who…?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey. Sorry I suck. I haven't updated in a while. Mostly because I didn't feel too inspired. Well here it is. Hope you like it.**

**I do not lay claim to this stuff. Only the stuff I make up (I'm pretty sure you know which parts.)**

Ed and Al got up that morning and packed their things. Al checked that Lucifer was sleeping soundly in his crate while Ed watched Aniketos warily. He was in one of his quiet, but "I want to nip at everything" stages.

They went downstairs with their large trunks and found Hagrid. "Hey boys!" Hagrid said to them, guiding them outside and into the streets of London. Al hailed a cab, knowing that Hagrid wouldn't know how.

They all awkwardly packed inside. Hagrid took up a lot of space. Ed was squished to one door, Al the other. They got out at King's Cross Station and Al paid the cabbie with the rest of their muggle money.

"Ok boys, I said I would see ya to the station; here are your tickets, I mus' be off!" Hagrid told them with a flourish. Before they could say anything, he lumbered away.

Surprised that someone so large could disappear so effectively, Ed turned to his brother with a somewhat bewildered look. Al looked back at Ed, and then at their tickets. "Platform 9 ¾? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Huh?" Ed responded, confused.

"See here? It says platform 9 ¾. There wouldn't be a platform 9 ¾ would there?" Al asked.

"I dunno, let's just look around." Ed said, taking in their surroundings. They weren't used to so many people. They were also pushing carts with very large trunks and cages on them. They looked around the platforms, but found no platform 9 ¾. They were about to abandon their search, when they saw a boy, about their age, with dark hair and glasses pushing a large cart just like theirs.

"Harry!" Al called out to the other boy.

He noticed them and walked up to them, his parents trailing behind. "Hey guys." Harry said with a smile.

"Hey, do you…uh…know where platform 9 ¾ is?" Al asked hesitantly.

Harry laughed. "No wonder you looked so confused. First things first; these are my parents." Harry turned to the man and woman behind him and then motioned to Ed and Al. "Mom, dad; this is Alphonse and Edward Elric."

Harry's father gave them an enthusiastic grin while he shook their hands. His mother smiled warmly. "Why don't you show them the platform James," Lily Potter told her husband. Mr. Potter went over between platforms 9 and 10, looked around for a few seconds, walked towards the bricks, and disappeared.

Al felt his eyes migrate out of their sockets. Ed just stuttered, "Wh..W...What?"

"Don't worry about it, just push your cart through," Harry said with a smirk. With that, he ran into the wall to join his father.

"C'mon boys, let's go," Mrs. Potter said with an encouraging touch on each of their shoulders. "You aren't scared, are you?" she said with a little bit of playfulness in her voice.

Ed was NOT afraid, so without any further ado, he ran into the platform.

Not to be outdone by his brother, Al chased after him.

"Boys…" Mrs. Potter muttered knowingly to herself as she followed them.

On the other side, on platform 9 ¾, the brothers found themselves staring at a black and red steam engine with "Hogwarts Express" along the sides. All around them families were saying goodbye to their young promising witch or wizard as they boarded the train.

Ed and Al, having no one to say goodbye to, boarded the train and found an empty compartment. Ed immediately stashed his things and sat down across from Al. Al watched as his brother sprawled himself out over the entire seat and closed his eyes.

"Is that comfortable, bother?" al asked. Ed just grunted. Al smiled and then turned as the door to the compartment opened.

"Hey," Harry sad as he lugged his trunk under the seat.

"Hey," Al said back. Al looked in the crate Lucifer was in and saw that he was still asleep; so was Ed's owl, for once.

Harry sat down beside Al seeing as how Ed occupied a whole bench by himself. Before the two could start a conversation, the door opened again to admit a red-headed boy with freckles. 'Mind if I sit here?" he asked.

"Not at all," Al told him as he reached over and nudged his brother. "Hey Ed, get up." When Ed just grunted in annoyance, Al resorted to other tactics. "You sure take up a lot of room for someone so **small**."

Ed bolted upright, turned to his brother and exclaimed, "WHO'S SO SMALL HE NEEDS A CHILD'S CARSEAT?!"

The red-headed boy did not even try to conceal his peals of laughter as he sat down next to Ed. Harry had looked stunned for a moment, before he started cracking up. Harry hadn't heard Ed say more than two words aloud, so he had thought the other boy was pretty quiet. He definitely thought this was a most entertaining way to be proven wrong.

Ed just glared at his brother who was smirking at him. "You're not that much taller than me, Al. We ARE twins."

"So you say, but we are fraternal twins, and I obviously got all the tall genes." Al replied, still smiling.

"Why you!!" Ed said angrily and was about to pounce on his brother when the train lurched to a start. Ed's body pitched forward and he fell between the seats. The other boys in the compartment broke out into unrestrained laughter. Ed just sat up, slightly embarrassed. He ignored them and looked out the window as the train moved out of the station and approached countryside outside the city.

"I'm Ron, by the way; Ron Weasley." The red-haired boy told Harry and Al.

"I'm Alphonse and that's my brother Edward." Al said.

"I'm Harry." Harry said with a smile.

"Hey, did you guys hear that the Elric brothers are supposed to be on this train?" Ron said conspiratorially.

"Ah…well…" Al said nervously. "We are the Elric brothers."

"You!?" Ron said, taken aback. He then leaned in closer to Al, looking at him closely.

"What?" Al said as he leaned away from the investigating gaze.

"You really do have golden eyes." Ron said finally, somewhat amazed.

"Yeah….so?" Al said, somewhat unimpressed.

"Um… well... I've never met anyone with golden eyes before," Ron said awkwardly, and Al knew it wasn't the reason but he let it slide.

The ride was fairly uneventful until a lady came by with a cart of interesting snacks. Harry and Al both bought quite a few of everything on the cart and then turned to the other two boys.

Ed was still a little mad at the rest of the group, but he wouldn't turn down a plethora of delicious treats, no matter how much he wanted to punch his brother's smug face.

Both Harry and Al shared their food with Ron, who at first tried to be polite, but soon indulged himself in the simple wants of pre-teen boys. They devoured the strange selection of munchies, having to catch a few stray chocolate frogs and open the window for someone to spit out a particularly nasty Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean.

Ed was actually starting to enjoy himself. He was reluctant at first when he thought of this different world of magic, but some things had changed his mind. One was his curiosity. Ed and Al had always had a thirst for knowledge that had only grown larger during their sheltered life. Both had a passion for learning and Ed had an especially strong will that needed to be applied to something. They had always been smart but never had a chance to truly get what they desperately needed.

Ed looked at Al who was laughing along with Harry as Ron spit a raw anchovy flavored bean out the window. He found himself at ease and smiled a little bit to himself. They really needed this the most, Ed decided.

A chance to make friends.

It was then that a loud clatter caught their attention, and the occupants of the two seats turned to the door to see a girl with bushy brown hair and black Hogwarts robes. "You haven't happened to see a toad have you? A boy named Neville has lost his," she told them.

"I'm sorry, we haven't." Al said.

It was at this point in time that a certain owl had decided that he had gone unnoticed for too long. Aniketos began to screech and rattle in his cage.

"GODDAMNIT!" Ed yelled in aggravation. He reached under his chair and brought up the cage. Aniketos bit his finger and Ed dropped the cage unceremoniously onto the seat next to him. "STOP IT YOU DAMN BIRD!" Ed shouted nursing his finger.

"Let me handle this," the girl said with an air of self-assurance. She knelt in front of the cage and said, "Quietus!" The owl's screeches became mostly muted. The owl, noticing it could no longer be heard, sunk his head into his chest and fluttered its feathers as if flustered. The girl then placed the owl back under the seat. She turned to Ed. "You're owl, I presume?" she asked him.

"What of it?" Ed responded, annoyed.

"Nothing… I was just wondering why you would bring such a pet with you to school." She said somewhat nonchalantly.

Ed felt his fists tightening. Who the hell did she think she was? "It's none of your damn business."

"No need to be so rude. I guess I'll be going now. Let me know if you see Neville's toad. Or any help actually _using_ magic."

"We don't need any of your help. I could have done that too." Ed said, in an attempt to counter her comment.

"Oh really?" she said with a raised eyebrow looking him up and down. "Oh and I would be changing into my robes soon if I were you." She turned to leave.

"You're not my _mother_!" Ed retorted, as she left. "Who the hell was that, anyway? She pisses me off." He crossed his arms and looked back out the window.

The boys in the compartment remained silent, but exchanged looks.

It was going to be an interesting year.

**Hope you guys like it so far. Any ideas/comments/hate/love is appreciated.**


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